From hand to mouth: monkeys require greater effort in motor preparation for voluntary control of vocalization than for manual actions.

ABSTRACT: Voluntary control of vocal production is an essential component of the language faculty, which is thought to distinguish humans from other primates. Recent experiments have begun to reveal the capability of non-human primates to perform vocal control; however, the mechanisms underlying this ability remain unclear. Here, we revealed that Japanese macaque monkeys can learn to vocalize voluntarily through a different mechanism than that used for manual actions. The monkeys rapidly learned to touch a computer monitor when a visual stimulus was presented and showed a capacity for flexible adaptation, such that they reacted when the visual stimulus was shown at an unexpected time. By contrast, successful vocal training required additional time, and the monkeys exhibited difficulty with vocal exe

SUBMITTER: Koda H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6281949 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature